A 610lb mother-of-five shed 156lbs over the course of the year before vowing to lose weight on her own because her doctor was 'too focused' on the numbers on the scale.

On Wednesday night's episode of the TLC reality series My 600lb Life, Cynthia Wells, 42, from Oklahoma City embarked on her weight loss journey after she realized that the burden of her weight was keeping her from being able to truly support her children.

However, Cynthia initially struggled to lose weight to get approved for weight loss surgery, and she fought with her doctor over his insistence that she see a therapist for her emotional eating before she stopped seeing the obesity specialist all together.

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Hard times: Cynthia Wells weighed 610lbs when she embarked on her weight loss journey on Wednesday night's episode of the TLC reality series My 600lb Life

Dependent on her kids: The mother-of-five worked as a special education teacher, but she was finding it harder and harder to stand

Cynthia had troubles with overeating for most of her life because she grew up in a family where being overweight was celebrated.

By the time she was in high school, no one from the opposite sex would date her because of her size, and she grew depressed, and eventually suicidal.

But her life changed forever when she was 28 years old. After learning that her cousin's three children were being abused by their father, she stepped in and selflessly decided to raise them as her own.

Cynthia dedicated her life to becoming a mom and by the time she was 32 years old, she weighed 425lbs, and she went on to have two more kids of her own.